Shortage of trains to cause severe disruption to Penistone Line and Ormskirk-Preston

[pemma]

Northern have cancelled the 18:11 Huddersfield-Sheffield and 22:38 Sheffield-Huddersfield services tomorrow, it also appears most if not all the remaining Huddersfield-Sheffield services will be operated by 2 car sets and be terminated at Barnsley, the reason being "This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time."

https://www.journeycheck.com/northernrail

 

[northernchris]

I think the 1811 from Huddersfield splits off the 1700 Piccadilly-Huddersfield, so comes off Newton Heath. Although not acceptable for the Penistone line, Northern's units do seem to be more intensively used than this time last year so will no doubt be minimising the amount of time available to get them back in service. It does make sense to target the same services so passengers can look at alternatives - for example short forming alternate services on lines with a frequent service

 

[DarloRich]

"This is due to more trains than usual needing repairs at the same time."

it is autumn - there will be loads of units with wheel flats

 

[geoffk]

it is autumn - there will be loads of units with wheel flats

When is Network Rail going to deal with the trees on this line? Every autumn there are problems around Shepley, even with the "leaf fall" timetable.

 

[DarloRich]

When is Network Rail going to deal with the trees on this line? Every autumn there are problems around Shepley, even with the "leaf fall" timetable.

eh?what do you mean?

 

[geoffk]

eh?what do you mean?

Trains are delayed by adhesion problems, especially around Shepley, and the few extra minutes allowed don't really help. Network Rail need to remove the offending trees if they are inside the railway fence.

 

[DarloRich]

Trains are delayed by adhesion problems, especially around Shepley, and the few extra minutes allowed don't really help. Network Rail need to remove the offending trees if they are inside the railway fence.

Can you track which tree the leaves come from?

 

[pemma]

When is Network Rail going to deal with the trees on this line? Every autumn there are problems around Shepley, even with the "leaf fall" timetable.

Even if there's no trees on Network Rail property, leaves from trees on private line can be blown on to the railway line. I've noticed one type of unusual leaf appear outside my house recently and had a look at nearby trees and couldn't see a matching leaf, turns out they are coming from a tree in another street.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Can you track which tree the leaves come from?

No, but you can remove all the trees within the railway boundary fence, which would likely help.

 

[marcouk2]

When is Network Rail going to deal with the trees on this line? Every autumn there are problems around Shepley, even with the "leaf fall" timetable.

They have been, I live near the line and got a letter last month saying they were doing vegetation clearance works along the line on weekends.

 

[Tomnick]

https://mobile.twitter.com/jojohnsonuk/status/994599517239566336?lang=en

I have asked Network Rail, UK's 4th largest landowner, to suspend tree felling during the nesting season and will be setting up independent review of lineside tree + vegetation management

Discuss.

 

[DarloRich]

No, but you can remove all the trees within the railway boundary fence, which would likely help.

it would help a bit but not remove the issue.

 

[Ken H]

get rid of disc brakes and put on tread brakes again.
</sarc>

 

[northernchris]

Now the Preston-Ormskirks are cancelled tomorrow

 

[Mogster]

There’s been more shortforming on the recent Southport-Wigan-Manchester services than I can remember in over 20 years of travelling. In the morning people are being left on the platform at Westhoughton regularly and I really feel for them, overcrowding is ridiculous. At Oxford Road in the evening I can see it on other services also.

Northern’s stock levels seem to be at crisis point. None of this seems to be reaching the attention of the media though.

 

[MDB1images]

Northern appear to have constant problems right across i's operations.

Surely this can't be allowed to continue much longer.

 

[221129]

Northern appear to have constant problems right across i's operations.

Surely this can't be allowed to continue much longer.

And what do you propose happens?

 

[ryan125hst]

I was speaking to Paul Johnson on Twitter earlier, he used to be involved in the Friends of the Brigg Line Group. He said that Northern currently has 42 units out of service with wheelflats due to poor railhead conditions. I asked how many normally are out of service due to wheelflats at this time of year and was told 15-20, so there's over double the usual number units out of service. It looks like many lines haven't had Rail Head Treatment Train treatment, although it's unclear whether there are many lines that normally receive this that haven't and, if so, why this is the case.

My sister commutes from Retford to Sheffield every weekday for university and the 7:36 was short formed every day last week. I study part time and commuted to Sheffield with her on Wednesday. The Class 144 that showed up had awful wheelflats and is likely out of service now if the noise it was making then is anything to go by! When we got to Sheffield, there was a 3 coach Class 144 and a Class 142 in the sidings between platforms 5 and 6 - my sister informed me that they had been there the previous afternoon. In fact, they were still there as I caught the 16:38 back home! I wonder if they were suffering from severe wheelflats and were waiting to be moved at low speed to the wheel lathe at Neville Hill?

Another sign that Northern really are struggling is the units that showed up last week. I believe it was Thursday that a Class 150 showed up on the 7:36 which is usually a Pacer (two if you're lucky), but what was even stranger is that my sister's train home that day (I think it was the 17:37) was formed of two Class 153's. While I've seen Class 150's working the Leeds expresses before, I can't recall ever seeing a 153 on that service so I gathered they were struggling!

 

[175001]

As a northern driver, I can tell you that leaf fall has been horrendous this autumn, much worse than previous years. Probably linked to the suspension of tree cutting by Network Rail.

 

[dcbwhaley]

I was speaking to Paul Johnson on Twitter earlier, he used to be involved in the Friends of the Brigg Line Group. He said that Northern currently has 42 units out of service with wheelflats due to poor railhead conditions. I asked how many normally are out of service due to wheelflats at this time of year and was told 15-20, so there's over double the usual number units out of service. It looks like many lines haven't had Rail Head Treatment Train treatment, although it's unclear whether there are many lines that normally receive this that haven't and, if so, why this is the case.

My sister commutes from Retford to Sheffield every weekday for university and the 7:36 was short formed every day last week. I study part time and commuted to Sheffield with her on Wednesday. The Class 144 that showed up had awful wheelflats and is likely out of service now if the noise it was making then is anything to go by! When we got to Sheffield, there was a 3 coach Class 144 and a Class 142 in the sidings between platforms 5 and 6 - my sister informed me that they had been there the previous afternoon. In fact, they were still there as I caught the 16:38 back home! I wonder if they were suffering from severe wheelflats and were waiting to be moved at low speed to the wheel lathe at Neville Hill?

Another sign that Northern really are struggling is the units that showed up last week. I believe it was Thursday that a Class 150 showed up on the 7:36 which is usually a Pacer (two if you're lucky), but what was even stranger is that my sister's train home that day (I think it was the 17:37) was formed of two Class 153's. While I've seen Class 150's working the Leeds expresses before, I can't recall ever seeing a 153 on that service so I gathered they were struggling!

Surely changing a wheel doesn't take days?

 

[Darandio]

Network Rail need to remove the offending trees if they are inside the railway fence.

Yet they were told to stop doing just that. Mind you, it was Jo Johnson that told them to stop but as he has now buggered off they should secretly go back to obliterating them again.

 

[MDB1images]

And what do you propose happens?

A bit more accountability for actions made.

 

[Ken H]

maybe Northern staff have had enough. All sorts of operating problems, and probably grumpy customers too, making workdays hard at all staff levels.. I suppose morale then starts to suffer, and recovering then becomes very hard. Will Northern be able to turn this round when they get electrics to Blackpool?

 

[Edders23]

They have been, I live near the line and got a letter last month saying they were doing vegetation clearance works along the line on weekends.

that usually only entails cutting back branches not complete removal which would probably cause stability problems one things tree roots are good at is stabilising embankments removal of trees might lead to even bigger maintenance bills

 

[njamescouk]

good luck getting a train from chapeltown to Sheffield tomorrow.

 

[njamescouk]

put a banking engine on at shepley.

put a twenty ton ingot in the bike space to hold the train to the rails.

/sarc

 

[TheSel]

I was speaking to Paul Johnson on Twitter earlier, he used to be involved in the Friends of the Brigg Line Group. He said that Northern currently has 42 units out of service with wheelflats due to poor railhead conditions. I asked how many normally are out of service due to wheelflats at this time of year and was told 15-20, so there's over double the usual number units out of service. ...

Couldn't they fix them on Saturdays when Northern's trains don't run anyway?

 

[dk1]

Couldn't they fix them on Saturdays when Northern's trains don't run anyway?

Where do all the extra maintenance staff come from though?

 

[CHAPS2034]

I went past the lathe at Longsight on Friday. There were at least 2x142 and 2x150 attached together going through the lathe. May well have been another one in the middle that I couldn't see.

It is also being reported that Northern are sending units to the TPE lathe at Ardwick which has never been done before - and apparently it's not cheap. Other Northern units have been dispatched to the lathe at Crewe; not sure whether this has been a regular occurrence in the past.

It would appear that the leaf fall season has been very long this year; certainly I have been sweeping up leaves in the garden for at least 6 weeks and there are a few still to come down.

It is also being said that the RHTT units from Springs Branch in particular have been having reliability problems this autumn. It would seem that they have been lying around all summer instead of being used for weed killing which won't have helped.

 

[Eccles1983]

Surely changing a wheel doesn't take days?

There are a handful of wheel lathes that can be used.

Problem is that every other TOC has wheel flats, and it backs up. Also it's not really changing a wheel. It's getting the profile of the wheel trimmed down to a specific level, which also means all the others on that unit need doing to the same spec.

It's not like Kwik fit, it's a job that once started takes several hours continually.